The Salary Chronicles: One Simple Question Helped Me Earn $10K More

Negotiating a higher rate at a job where you can work from home? An ideal situation for this woman.Photo by Christin Hume courtesy of Unsplash

Welcome to The Salary Chronicles, where we’re bringing transparency to negotiation and salaries, one story at a time. We ask women to share their experiences negotiating their salary and what their advice is for others doing the same. We share these stories anonymously so they feel comfortable speaking as openly and as freely as possible.

This week we’re speaking with a woman who was laid off and searching for a job, but still had the confidence to successfully negotiate.

Location: New England

Job description: Technical writer

Salary offered: $55/hr

Negotiated salary: $60/hr

What was the situation when you decided to negotiate?

I had been working for less than a year as a project manager when I was suddenly laid off during a company reorganization. When I started with that company I tried to negotiate but was immediately shut down. What I didn’t realize at the time was that was a sign that the company was on thin financial ice and it wouldn’t be a stable place to work.

After being laid off I didn't let myself wallow. I took inventory of my skills and was determined to find a better position with a better company. I’d been a project manager and a journalist in the past and decided to be open with my job search to anything that would match my skills. I put the word out in my network that I was looking for work.

After being laid off for six weeks, a contact reached out to me and said their company was hiring a technical writer, as a contract employee. Would I be interested?

I learned a little more about the role and found out that it would allow me to work from home, which was a big bonus. Not only would I skip the commute, but I could live in a town with a low cost of living while still being paid big city rates.

I went through the interview process and decided that yes, this job was a perfect fit for my skills, and I was excited about both the work and the company. When coming to the final interview I had a good feeling that I’d be offered the job and I knew I wanted to negotiate.

How did you decide to negotiate even though you were unemployed at the time and not interviewing anywhere else?

I’ve always negotiated or tried to negotiate, in every position I’ve had. When I was growing up, my father worked in banking and believed in teaching his daughters the skills it took to be strong women. This included negotiating. From a young age, I knew that it was OK to know the value I bring to a role and ask for more than what I was offered.

Even though I was unemployed and didn’t have another job offer to leverage, it never even occurred to me to not negotiate. In my mind, the company was the one with the need. They needed the position filled and I knew I would do a great job for them.

How did the conversation go?

When we got to the end of the interview process, the hiring manager was ready to talk pay. As it was a contract job, I would be paid hourly.

She started the conversation apologetically, saying, “I’m sorry this is low, but the contract rate we have for this position is $55 per hour.”

I did some quick mental math and was elated. That was much higher than what I was previously making and with the benefit of working from home in a location with a much lower cost of living, I’d be extremely comfortable with that amount.

But I knew I wanted to negotiate, so I decided to ask for more. I simply asked, “Would you be able to add $5 per hour to that?” I then stopped talking and let her think it over.

After a few moments, she replied that yes, they could do that.

It was so easy and I was elated! That extra $5 per hour may not seem like much, but it would increase my annual earnings by $10k.

I was going to make an additional $10k just by asking one small question.

What advice do you have for other women?

Don’t hold back from negotiating just because you really need the job. When you’re interviewing and they’ve just given you an offer, no one is ever going to want you as much as they do in that moment. Recognize the power that you have in that moment and set yourself up to earn what you deserve.

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Erica Gellerman is a personal finance writer and founder of The Worth Project: a weekly money newsletter you actually want to read. Aside from personal finance writing, Erica also does digital and content marketing consulting in the personal finance space. Her work has been...